Mine

State regulators have laid out an updated timeline for completing the environmental review on the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota that calls for a 30-day public comment period.

The latest environmental review for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota has swollen to over 3,100 pages, reflecting how regulators struggled to with deal with nearly 58,000 written comments from the public and opinions expressed at public meetings.

Opponents of the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota charged Thursday new data show that the state’s new draft environmental review for the project underestimates how much contaminated water could flow from the mine, raising serious questions about the long-term costs of treating it.

Scientists hoping to detect dark matter deep in a former South Dakota gold mine have taken the last major step before flipping the switch on their more than $300 million experiment and say they may be ready to begin collecting data as early as February.

Officials say it’s unlikely the mine at Soudan Underground Mine State Park will reopen for tours this year after last winter’s fire. But they say there’s still plenty to do at the park and its new sister state park on Lake Vermilion.